


Catharsis

by TheGrapeLord



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Break Up, Canon Universe, Episode: s08e08 Clear Day, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fix-It, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Gore, M/M, Past Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Past Allura/Lance (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-06-08
Packaged: 2019-10-20 11:09:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17621288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGrapeLord/pseuds/TheGrapeLord
Summary: Canon Divergent after "Clear Day", this work will expand upon how the series should have developed in my opinion. Allurance will be briefly touched upon in the first two chapters, but that's about it.





	1. The Hedgehog's Dilemma

**Author's Note:**

> This is officially my first attempt at a long story, and Also my first official AO3 post. Please be merciful in the comments ^^; I'm very open to criticism, so feel free to express your opinion!

"Allura, it's gonna be okay," chirped Lance, slinging an arm around Allura. "I know you're worried about Honerva, but maybe I can help...just the two of us. Alone."

"Lance, I'm really not in the mood" Allura sighed, holding her arm. "So please, I need some time for myself."

Lance pulled back, "Okay, but I'm your boyfriend, after all. I can support you and-"

"Please," Allura begged and Lance threw his hands up in defeat, allowing her to pass to her bedroom.

Allura averted her gaze, speedwalking to her room and slamming the door shut, locking it before sitting on the bed and pulling up her legs. Then, she pushed her face in her knees. Next to her, on the nightstand, a picture of her and Lance on their date. Lately, she had found herself unable to stand the sight of that photo. She slammed the frame down, looking away as tears collected at the corner of her eyes. Doubts assaulted her, like they always did when she was alone. Had she done the right thing? He seems so happy, and the others look so indifferent. Did she really love him? Was it love, what was between them? Something nagged in the back of her mind. 

"You know it, you know damn fucking well it's not love. You know how love feels, how it felt. Foolish Allura, you're not in love. You're desperate." 

She hated to admit it, but the voice was right. She wanted to go back, to refuse the date with Lance, to refuse the trip to Earth, to ignore Keith! To ignore everyone else and bring HIM back. To listen to him, to learn his side of the story. She could've broken things off with Lance- No. No, she couldn't. Despite everything, her haphazardly developed relationship with Lance was the only thing keeping her from doing the unthinkable. She knew she could not withstand another heartbreak. Lance was the makeshift raft she was hanging on desperately to avoid drowning in the storming ocean of her trauma. She closed her eyes, and broke down into crying. As the tears burned down her cheeks, she sunk into the bed, trying to quiet down her sobs. Eventually, the emotional distress got to her, and she faded into sleep, hugging herself tightly. 

In the meanwhile Lance was sulking, sliding down the sofa. His inseparable friend and rival in life, Keith, sat by his side, slurping on some orange juice. "Hey Lance, why the long face?" 

Lance took a little pause before replying, averting his eyes. "I'm just- everything was going so well, you know? Then Allura swallowed that Dark Entity thingy and it's like she's not herself anymore. She snaps at me, she stopped kissing me, and overall she seems more isolated. It's as if Lotor was here all over again."

"Are you sure it's the Dark Entity, Lance?" Keith sighed. He rubbed the back of his head and stretched, leaning back against the sofa. "Look at what happened so far. Allura didn't want to go on a date with you. It took the five of us to convince her. Pidge had to give up the game you two bought together at the space mall, her fondest memory of our whole journey, to get Allura a dress she wore once, and then left in the closet to gather dust. Earlier, you shouted at Hunk for making a joke about a cartoon show. A cartoon show, Lance. You're not yourself anymore, and she's not herself anymore.. haven't you noticed that she has since long lost her sparkle? You're killing her, Lance. And she's killing you."

Lance was about to object, when Keith continued. 

"It's not love, Lance. I don't know who you're trying to fool, whether it's everyone else or yourself, but it's painfully obvious that the two of you are desperate, not in love."

At this point, the Red Paladin was angry, insulted and most of all, he was conflicted. He stood up and spat out his discomfort at Keith, his high pitched voice almost breaking.

"Because you know how love works, don't you Mullet?! You wouldn't recognise love even if it slapped you in the face!"

Keith narrowed his eyes, grabbing Lance by the neck of his uniform and pulling him down to meet his face.

"No Lance! I don't know how love works, I don't know how any of this works! But there is one, one fucking thing I know! I know how loneliness works, I know how abandonment and how sadness work. I know what it means to be surrounded by people that know you, and still feeling like you're alone in the Universe! Goddamnit Lance look at her!" Keith spat, listing off on his gloved fingers. "She lost her house, her title, her people, even her goddamn crown! She gave, gave, gave and now she's got nothing left Lance! Nothing! Don't you realise that she's clinging to you because there's literally no other alternative?! Is this the love you want? Is this the closeness you seek? Do you really favour dependence over affection?!"

Lance remained slient and Keith shook his head.

"The Lance I know would be ashamed of you." 

Keith's shoulder shoved as he stormed off towards the training room, pushing an unsuspecting Griffin out of the way.

The air in the training room was heavy with the scent of sweat and metal, the studded, worn out leather of the fighting gloves and punching bags, the ruined plastic of the mats, it wasn't surely the most pleasant of smells, but for Keith that didn't matter. He felt at home in there. In fact, the peculiar mixture of cheap body spray and pungent sweat always managed to soothe him, allowing him to train for hours on end while the thoughts in his mind sorted themselves out. That's when another scent entered the room. He knew it right away. 

He knew /her/ right away.

Keith let out a loud grunt as he threw another couple of punches at the sack hanging from the ceiling, hearing the ex-general approach. 

"What did that poor sack do for you to abuse it that way?" Inquired Acxa as she took her place in front of the Black Paladin, stopping the training item from waving. 

The male was beyond annoyed by this, beginning to take off his fighting gloves. "I'm not in the mood for this, Acxa. Either make yourself useful or bore off." Which, as it is natural, was promptly answered with a swift kick to the jaw, sending him to the ground. "What the fuck!?" Exclaimed Keith, sitting up. "You asked me to make myself useful, and that poor sack sure as hell won't be able to fight back. So come at me, Mullet."

"Lance taught you that, didn't he?" Hissed the Black Paladin, standing upright and holding his jaw.

"Maybe, maybe it's just my spirit of observation" mused the woman, getting back into a stance. "So.. are you just gonna sit idly around and wait for me to attack you again? Or are you gonna do something?" 

"Oh I'm gonna do something alright-" Said Keith, lunging at her with extreme fervour. Acxa evaded gracefully, a jaded expression painted on her face. Undeterred, the angered half-Galra kept attacking the general relentlessly, growling and grunting. Acxa did little but laugh in his face, something that only got him angrier, until he forsook all logic and reason and just rushed at her, which she promptly answered by moving slightly to the left and tripping him, causing Keith to roll on the ground like an idiot. 

"You fight like Zethrid.." deadpanned Acxa, turning her back towards him.

"I take it as a compliment" mused Keith, before her reply shut him up.

"Well, you really shouldn't. Zethrid has the physique to afford aggression and recklessness, it's her strong suit. I've seen her take the full brunt of hits that would've killed a normal Galra and brush it off as if they were nothing. You're weak, Keith. Weaker than the average Galra, weaker than the average Altean, hell, one could argue that a well-trained Olkari could give you a run for your money." 

"Wow, thanks for having so much faith in me."

"It's not a matter of Faith, It's a matter of compatibility. Your fighting style is not compatible with your body type. You just wail at the enemy in the vain hope of overpowering them, but you're powerless when met with strategy, wits, or simply a greater force. You're impulsive, Keith, and in the end, your aggression, is your own undoing."

The raven haired male stood upright and began picking up his stuff, irritated that even the place he found relaxation in had become a source of annoyance. Turning his back to the general, he shot one last quip her way.

"Who taught you that, Space Socrates? I don't need the wisdom of some withering old Gal-"

"It was Lotor." Replied Acxa, biting her bottom lip and looking away. It was clear her tone, despite how calm it tried to sound, belied a tinge of pain underneath. Keith's irritation dissipated instantly as he turned to her, seeing the somber expression on her face. "That.." Keith tried to make sense of the situation, but all he could express was confusion. "That makes no sense, he seemed rather aggressive towards us back in the Quintessence Field."

"Which is why I think that something was.. messing with him."

"Messing with him?" Asked Keith, puzzled, tilting his head to the side.

"I've been at his side for centuries, paladin. He never lost his cool. He's always had the situation under control.. when a spy infiltrated our ranks, Narti, he murdered her without a second thought. But he did so only once he had conclusive evidence of that. She- we believed she was our friend, Lotor considered her one for sure, he gave his own cat, Kova, to her so that she could see. But he wanted our safety, and so she had to go. It's... I think it's the same reason he expelled us from Sincline, during the fight. He knew he was fighting an uphill battle, and didn't want us to suffer for his own shortcomings."

"Wait- I thought you people ran away! You're telling me that Lotor shot you out of his robot personally?" Acxa nodded, rubbing one of her arms. "He always had our best interests in mind... since I've met him, he tried to make us the best we could be. Which is why it hurt so much to see him lose his mind that way. What did make him lose his mind anyways?"

Keith shrugged, a puzzled expression on his face. "My best guess is that after we found out he harvested Alteans for Quintessence he didn't find keeping up his cool facade any longer."

"That.. somehow makes even less sense" 

"How so?"

"He always aimed to preserve life, for starters. He wouldn't just go around killing people for something as trivial as Quintessence.. and it's not like his plans always worked. No matter the outcome, he would always be the voice of reason, even if his schemes got foiled." The taller woman rubbed her chin, looking down. "Did something happen in the castle? Something that could have prompted such a violent reaction, or clouded his judgement?" 

It was as if a light bulb turned on in Keith's head. "Oh! I remember when he tried to explain the situation he went to hold Allura's hand, he kinda looked like a beaten dog, you know? Ears drooped, shoulders slouched, submissive tone. Back then I thought it was just an attempt at saving his ass, but now that you say so, he must've been really desperate.. perhaps he really did love her."

"What happened next?" Inquired Acxa, curious. "Allura threw him. He hit his head three times before passing out. Then Kuron snapped and brought him to you girls. We had a fight, I got my scar, and the only other time I saw Lotor was when I managed to pilot Black, and he was already pretty out of it."

From Acxa's shocked expression, Keith understood that he hit the nail right on the head. "The Alteans have surprising physical strength, that only increases in moments of distress" Acxa began to explain. "If the Princess really did love him, her pain in that moment might have been enough to leave him concussed!"

"And that explained why he reacted the way he did" finished Keith, rubbing his nape. "There's no doubt Allura loved him, Pidge caught several instances of them sneaking away to kiss during the time they were working together on the ships, she uses them to tease Lance really often."

Almost in unison, they blurted their sudden realisation. 

"We have to bring him back!"

As the two team leaders were leaving the training room in a hurry, in search for the rest of the Paladins, admiral Takashi Shirogane was instead calmly walking through the hangar, arms elegantly folded behind his back. He stopped as he reached the Black Lion, a twinge of pain twisting his heart. He closed his eyes with a sigh and slowly made his way over to the Altean contraption, a soft smile gracing the man's already gorgeous face. He placed a hand on the robot's metallic leg and lowered his head, his mind travelling back to the adventures they spent together, to the unbound beauty of the Universe him and his friends travelled through. As the memories flooded his mind, Shiro could feel tears prickling at the corner of his eyes, and he let them flow freely. He had learned, in his years, that letting go of his emotions was the best way to deal with them, to explore and respect each and every one of them. 

"We've been through a lot, haven't we, Old Girl?" Whispered the man against the oddly warm metal. "You and me, we've sticked through thick and thin." As his voice almost broke, he could swear he felt it again, that low, familiar rumble in the pot of his stomach, like the purr of a massive feline. For a moment, just a brief second, he swore he could feel that connection again. But it was just a moment, and as it came, it vanished. 

"Until next time.." he whispered, and reluctantly went on with his walk. In the meantime, Lance had his face on the desk, a loud groan escaping his throat. Hunk, sitting across the table from him, put a hand on the cuban boy's shoulder and smiled supportively. "Come on, friend, spill it out! You know you can tell me everything!" Lance promptly replied by lifting his face up and letting his eyes lazily rise to meet Hunk's own sunny gaze. The samoan was so cheerful, Lance could barely stomach it at the moment. Nonetheless, he ranted his heart out.

"It's that stupid Keith again!" Started off Lance, throwing his arms in the air theatrically. "I thought we were finally over squabbling like some stupid chickens, but noooo, I just go to confide in him and that stupid Mullet just- augh! The nerve! He makes fun of me! Can you imagine? And then when I react he insults me and pushes me to the ground. Unbelievable." Hunk looked beyond worried, and leaned in over the table with a slightly annoyed, but curious expression. "Come on Lance, tell me all about it. I'm here for a reason, after all."

Lance had his eyes half lidded as he brought his arms crossed under his chin. "It's Allura. I love her oh so dearly, but... It's been weird. She's grown so distant, and we- we're almost always at odds, Hunk. I think that Dark Entity is corrupting her.." the Yellow Paladin stiffened, eyes dropping low. "Lance..." he started, his grip tightening, measuring his next words very carefully. He knew, in his years of experience in dealing with Lance, that he was awfully quick to rile himself up over silly things. He wanted the red paladin to be calm, to help him look at things from other perspectives. "Did I ever tell you the hedgehog's story?" At Lance's puzzled look, he got the confirmation that he didn't. "Well, there once was a very cheerful porcupine, we'll name him Larry, Larry the Porcupine. You see, Larry was very lovable, and he was very interested in this cute white cat, let's name her Alicia. Larry really wanted to be close to Alicia, but the closer he got, the more Alicia would be hurt by Larry's needles. Alicia was made VERY uncomfortable by this, but endured it because she knew Larry needed a close friend, and she really needed someone to care about too."

" What happened next?" Asked Lance, childhood wonder in his eyes.

Hunk leaned back on the chair, his signature, soft smile in his eyes. "The story takes two different routes, from there, Lance. Some people say Larry never grew to learn his boundaries and kept stinging Alicia, albeit involuntarily, until she succumbed to her wounds; leaving Larry sad, alone and guilty. Others instead, say that Larry the porcupine was a pretty smart fellow when it came to emotions, and understood that the two of them would be happier if he kept some distance. He accepted that maybe they weren't meant to be so close, and they both lived a happy life as the best of friends."

"But Larry loved her!" Cried out Lance, a hint of tears almost gathering at the corner of his eyes. "Did his spikes really hurt that much?"

Hunk nodded solemnly. "He loved her, yes. But love is, first and foremost, wanting to make sure your significant other is safe and happy. And sometimes, that means letting go of the things you love." He placed a hand on Lance's own hand and smiled at him again. "You're a wonderful guy, Lance. I know that, I'm your best friend. And I know that your wonderfulness will make a special someone very happy one day. You don't need to get there now, you don't need to rush things. Focus on what you, and the people you love need, not on what you want."

Lance now was tearing up, his lower lip trembling. Standing up from his seat, he made his way over to Hunk' side and threw himself into the samoan man's arms, crying softly into his uniform. The yellow paladin brushed a hand through Lance's hair soothingly, a low hum reverberating in his chest. "There there.. it's okay, it'll be okay."


	2. Happier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance chooses to spend the night away from Allura, after all, they both had quite a lot to think about. And when it comes to thinking, he knows just the right person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to thank the amazing AstroLatte for being my beta reader. Hadn't it been for them, all of this wouldn't have been possible. 
> 
> I also apologise for the shorter chapter, I'm still getting a hang of this writing thing.
> 
> As always, feel free to leave criticism of any kind in the comments, it's the only way I can improve!

Lance had decided to spend the night away from Allura, after all, they both had quite a lot to think about. And when it came to thinking, he knew just the right person. 

"Hey Pidge, thank you for letting me crash by your room for the time being. Me and Allura... we've been going through some stuff."

Pidge blinked a couple of times, looking away from the screen she was typing at to flash her friend a sincere smile. "Of course Lance! It's nothing.. we used to have sleepovers like this all the time back at the Garrison, remember? If anything, I should be the one thanking you. There's something I've been meaning to ask you for quite some time."

Lance sat up from the makeshift bed he and Pidge put together for him. "Really? This is.. quite the coincidence. There's something I wanted to ask you as well."

"Then" started Pidge "you should go first."

Lance ran a hand through his hair, stopping at his nape. He sighed as his elbow sagged, like a parade balloon slowly losing air.

"Hunk and Keith have been talking to me recently about Allura and me,” he worried his bottom lip between his teeth. “We've been having problems recently.”

“Recently?” Pidge echoed and Lance winced at her bluntness, but continued.

“They don’t think I'm what Allura needs right now, and I wanted your opinion.”

Pidge stopped what she was typing mid motion and swirled around in her chair to face Lance, hazel eyes wide behind her glasses.

“Say that again?”

Lance's cheeks reddened, “Pidge!”

“Sorry sorry, you're upset! Give me a tick!” she shook her head, adjusting herself, upside down and feet resting on her chair's backrest. Lance blinked slowly, watching her small body navigate around itself like a pretzel. “Okay, now this makes more sense.”

“Pidge, if you're messing with me-”

“I'm not, I swear! I just don't get romance stuff, so physically viewing you from a different angle can help me understand your predicament,” she explained and he sighed, deciding to just go with it. "Now, are you sure they told you that?”

“I mean yeah basically,” Lance said, dropping to the floor and crossing his legs. “Keith chewed me a new asshole and Hunk tried to gently tell me that breaking up with Allura would be the best thing for her.”

“But they didn't say you aren't what she needs.”

“Why are you getting so technical about this? It's obviously the same thing!”

“No, its not,” Pidge shook her head, a motion Lance found kind of impressive considering her position. “You are exactly what Allura needs, but not in the role that you think. Whether you like it or not, Allura is clearly still mourning the loss of Lotor. She loved him, after all.” 

The heavy use of the L word made Lance gasp, pulling his hand to his chest. He told her he loved Allura and their first date, and she never said it back. 

Maybe she never would because...she loved someone else.

“I'm sorry to say this, but she threw herself in your arms to fill the void he left,” Pidge continued. “Lance, she won't say so herself, because at this moment she's too weak to do so. This Honerva stuff, the Alteans...it's a lot for her to process. It's up to you to do what's best for her, for you, and for our team."

Lance hugged himself, considering his options. For all of Pidge's bluntness, her words didn't sting as much as Keith's or ache as much as Hunk's did. Maybe it was because she was putting words to what he's already known to be true.

It was at that moment that Pidge swung herself around to get up from her chair and walked over to him, flopping on the floor to sit at his side. With her short arms, she hugged him tight as he leaned his head on top of hers with another sigh.

“How am I supposed to act around her then?”

"Be her friend, Lance," Pidge murmured, pressing her face against his shoulder. "The best friend she could ever have. Talk about Lotor to her. Talk about Alteans, and her goals. Remind her who she is." 

Lance cast his arms around the green paladin, a solemn look in his face. As he let Pidge sink into his arms, he sighed and whispered his resolution, more to himself than to her. "I will, Pidge. I promise you, I will be the best friend any of you has ever had; nothing in the Universe will come between us."

"Nothing?" Questioned Pidge, her voice soft from emotion. "Not even Honerva, not even love?"

Lance shook his head, smiling at her. "Not even love, nor Honerva, nor death. Voltron is so much more than a group of paladins, we're a family, forged together with an unbreakable bond. I wouldn't give that up for anything in the universe. Keith, you, Hunk, Shiro... you guys are more important than that."

He sunk his face in Pidge's hair, inhaling slowly.

"More important than everything else."

Pidge exhaled through her mouth, pulling herself away from his embrace. After a minute of collecting herself, she beamed a bright smile at him, hands on his shoulders. 

"Well then, I happen to have just finished installing this new game on my PC. It's a FPS-based battle roya-" 

Pidge barely had the time to finish the sentence that Lance already had a controller in his hands, hopping up and down in his seat excitedly. She smirked, looking at her friend's fervour when it came to videogames. Picking up a controller of her own, she sat by his side and nudged him with her elbow, raising an eyebrow.

"Well then, Red Paladin. Let's see how much of a Sharpshooter you really are" she teased, knowing it would elicit a reaction from him.

"Oh, it's on. It's so on. In fact, you don't even know how much this is on, Katherine "Pidge Gunderson" Holt. I'll wreck you, and I'll wreck you so hard you'll have to change name again out of shame." Said Lance, fingers trembling in anticipation.

"You talk the talk, Lance, but I'm seeing a lotta mouth movements, and not enough finger action."

And thus the night was spent in Pidge's room, between shouting, shooting and chugging energy drinks. When the night faded, and the sun came to bless the Earth with his warmth, the two paladins were fast asleep, leaning on one another for support and snoring soundly. Shifting in her sleep, Katie compromised the already frail balance that the two had, causing Lance to yelp and flail his arms aimlessly as he fell to the ground.

"Gwah!" Yelped Lance as he pulled himself up, startling Pidge in the process. She sat, rubbing her sleepy eyes, and looked at him fumble out of his pajamas and into his Garrison Uniform before rapidly running his hands through his hairs, in a desperate attempt at combing them.

"Lance, they haven't gotten better in the five years we've known each other, sure they're not going to get any better now."

"Bore off Pidge!" Grunted Lance, frustrated. "I need to look my best today! Can't break things off with Allura looking like a hobo, you know?"

Pidge stood up in surprise "You're gonna do it today?!?"

"First thing in the morning, Pidge. The sooner I do, the less likely I am to change my mind. It's for all of us." 

She leapt up from her resting place and scrambled to get her uniform on as well, straightening her clothes with her hands and adjusting her glasses. At Lance's puzzled look, she put a hand on her hips and quirked a brow.

"What? You think I'm letting you go solo? Hell no! As if I'd leave my friend alone when he needs me the most."

Lance puffed up his chest and offered her a confident smile, before pressing the button that let the door whirr open. 

"Thank you, Pidge. This means a lot to me."

Allura was sitting in front of Blue, recounting her troubles to the lion, when she was interrupted by the sound of steps approaching. There he was, her boyfriend, Lance. There was something different about him, though. He struggled to look at her in eyes, there was this somber, almost solemn expression on his face, and it seemed as if he had barely slept the night prior. Feeling a pang of guilt coil around her chest for denying him access to their chambers, she moved in to speak, but that's when he promptly interrupted her, looking back at Pidge for reassurance. She gave a thumbs up, and when he turned towards her, Lance took in a sharp breath, gathering all of his courage.

"Allura, I have something extremely important to tell you. I've been sitting on this for a couple of days and I finally mustered up the guts to tell you."

"Oh! Of course, Lance, what is it?"

"So lately.. lately I've been thinking. I want you to be happier, Allura, and as this morning came, I looked back and realised that we're barely a candle in the wind, not the fire I thought we would be. Every argument, every word I can't take back, everything that has happened... let's not kid ourselves, we both know the way this story would end. I want to raise your spirits, I want to see you smile again, and well, that means I'll have to leave, that we'll have to leave this wreck we made. Allura, I'm letting you go, I'm setting you free. I love you, but it's painfully evident that you do not, and it's only gonna hurt both if we keep going."

Allura, tears streaming down her cheeks, ran forward and squeezed Lance into a tight hug, burying her face in the crook of his shoulder.

"Does this mean I'll be alone again?" She asked, her voice straining in ways that made Lance's heart twist.

"No Allura, never. I'll be at your side, always, but as a friend from now on. We will all be. Never forget that Voltron is your family, and that family never abandons one another."

Pidge decided to leave, to give the two their privacy, and to go back to the others. 

"So, did I interrupt something?" Asked Lance, pulling away from Allura. 

"Oh, I was talking to Blue. I feel like she understands me, when nobody else does."

Lance nodded along. "I used to do the same, she's a very good listener.. I'm happy she chose you, I wouldn't have lost her to anybody else."

"Oh, but you didn't lose her, Lance."

"I.. didn't? What do you mean?"

"Blue still cares deeply about you, Lance. To be fair she misses the times when you used to pilot her."

"She does?"

"Yeah! We bonded because of necessity, not because of refusal... and, she's always worried about how you're holding up."

Lance averted his gaze, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "A-About holding up.."

"Yes?"

Lance sighed, there was no right way to bring up the subject in his mind, but it was necessary.

"Allura, I know you're still in pain. And I know that it's a tricky subject, but it won't get easier by avoiding it. We.. we need to talk about Lotor. About what happened."

Allura's eyes welled up with tears as she looked down, bringing a hand to hold her arm.

"What is there to say? I loved him.. I really did. And, and we kissed, and we went to Oriande.. I had never been happier, I most likely will never be. I thought he loved me as well, Lance. I believed him, but it seems as though I was no more than another pawn in his sordid games. He tried to kill us, when he could no longer lie."

"You may just have to change your mind on that, Princess."

Both of them turned their heads towards the new voice. Keith and Acxa were standing in front of them, with Pidge slightly behind.

"Come, you're all needed for a meeting in the command room."


	3. Nomen Omen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Paladins devise a plan to impact Honerva's forces, and their leader is found with the weight of his world upon his shoulders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Immense thanks to my dear friends Astrolatte and Lightning for helping me with this! It wouldn't have been possible without them!
> 
> And sorry for the late update!

The command room was silent, a heavy tension befalling its hosts. At the head of the table, Shiro glanced at his crew before him. To his right, the Paladins of Voltron and Princess Allura, all looking at him expectantly. On his left, the MFE team, along with Coran and Acxa. 

His eyes caught an odd detail. 

While they usually sat next to each other, now Lance and Allura were instead at opposite sides of the group. He decided not to question the decision, as there were more important matters to be discussed at the moment. 

"We are all gathered here," he began, standing up, "to discuss our next moves in the battle against Honerva, to prevent her from destroying other realities."

He gestured towards Keith and Acxa, who were sitting at opposite sides of the table.

"Yesterday I was contacted by Acxa and Keith, they requested this meeting on behalf of some new intel they gathered. Keith, can you expose your new discoveries?"

“Yes,” he nodded, standing with a frown, a little put off by everyone suddenly staring at him. "Let's get things straight to the point. Honerva is destroying realities, and we must put a stop to her as soon as possible."

"But she's currently too powerful for either Voltron or Atlas, for a face-to-face confrontation," Pidge points out and Hunk nods.

"What are we supposed to do when our enemy is more powerful and we cannot acquire more power?" he asks, turning to Keith. "We're between a rock and a hard place."

"Not if you chip away at the enemy's forces until they're feeble enough for you to crush them," Keith explains, crossing his arms. "I personally think that the first thing we should hit is her mobility, her ability to travel between realities. And we do that by taking out Lotor and the Sincline. Without it, she'll be stuck here and we'll be able to buy some time."

"But," intervened Shiro. "You yourself told me that Lotor was our enemy when you recounted the events that transpired while my clone was operating."

Keith nodded, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, I was sure of that as well, until a couple of days ago I compared our experience with Lotor, with Acxa's experience with Lotor. So, I'll let her intervene on the matter."

Acxa cleared her throat, standing up and joining Keith's side. She noticed Keith looking at one specific paladin, a longing expression flashing for a mere second across his features before he composed himself again.

"Lotor is indeed cunning; however, as someone who's been at his side since before some of you were even alive, I can assure that he hates lying. He resorts to it only once there is no viable option left."

She paces slowly around the room, taking her time to study everyone thoroughly.

"I've seen him in front of the lions, Paladins. I've seen the expressions on his face. In the many decaphoebes I worked for him and with him, I can assure without a doubt that never had I seen him with such overwhelming grief and distress struck across his face as when he was pleading with Her Highness Allura."

Acxa's inescapable gaze honed in on the princess, her cold, calculative glare making the royal Altean shiver. 

"The Lotor I knew was level-headed and cold-minded, I've seen him play plenty of people, and no matter how severe, he always kept himself reasonable. I believed that he truly was unshakable. If we compare that to the over the top, intensely emotional reaction he had during the Rift Battle, we can deduct that he was completely genuine about the things he said,” Acxa paused to turn her gaze to Allura. “For him to react so violently, something must've struck an extremely sensitive nerve for him."

Allura covered her mouth.

"According to our calculations," continued Acxa, "he's been trapped in the Rift for the last four years. Which, if we take into account the fluctuations of time during the paladin's battle against him, amounts to several decades. One brief visit to where Lotor is now turned Zarkon into the monster we all knew. I shudder thinking about what fate may have befallen him. If there really is anything left of the man he once was, it's now being puppeteered around by Honerva."

Allura averted her gaze with a choked out gasp, that drew attention to her. 

"Your Highness?" James questioned, a concerned look in his eyes.

"It's my fault..." she forced out, her voice strained.

"Allura, you can't blame yourself for this," Keith tried to reason, but she shook her head.

"I didn't let him explain his side of the story, and when he tried, I compared him to Zarkon, the father we forced him to kill," she pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes. "Oh, sages...I'm the monster. An awful, wretched monster!"

"Allura, it's not your fault," Hunk said softly, placing a hand on Allura's shoulders. "It was a hard moment, we all went off the deep end. If there's blame to be given, it's shared on all of us."

"I'm the leader of the Intergalactic Coalition, I'm the daughter of King Alfor! I'm supposed to be the voice of reason here! I'm supposed to keep my cool and make the right choices, I-"

"-You're a person," Shiro stated, looking at Allura with kind eyes. "Not a machine. You're marvelous and saved our life numerous times, but you made the call you did with the information you had then."

"Shiro's right, hindsight is 20/20, y'know?" Hunk smiled, squeezing her hand.

"I don't.” Allura sniffled.”Alteans don't use the Snellen chart for eyesight."

"He means mistakes are made to be learned from," Pidge clarified. "We can fix this, there's still time."

Allura looked at the paladins, tears still running down her cheeks. "Do you really think that?" 

"Of course I do. I'd never lie to one of my best friends,” replied Shiro.

"You're amazing, Allura," added Lance. "I know how strong you can be."

"Yeah!" Pidge cheered, leaning over the table. "So wipe those tears from your cheeks and make us, all of us proud!"

A tear-stained smile stretched over Allura's cheeks, the support displayed by her team filling her heart with joy.

"But.. back to us." Keith's serious tone brought everyone back to the gravity of the situation.

"Yeah, back to us." Continued Veronica. "Honerva has heaps of mechas at her disposal, who's to say that removing that specific one will be such a hindrance to her?"

"I can answer that" replied Allura. "She forced her way into Oriande, and because of that, she does not possess the secrets that Lotor helped me discover." She spoke with fondness in her voice, her mind travelling back to her last happy memories. 

"Sincline is built specifically for interdimensional travel. It can survive in the harsh environment of the Rift with ease superior to that of Voltron, and is built from the same comet ore that the forms the latter." She took a pause to wipe at her cheeks a bit, the remnants of her tears still stinging. "To put it simply, Sincline is the only robot able to travel through time and space, even better than Voltron does."

"And we can't just, trash the robot or something?" asked Rizavi, raising an eyebrow.

"We can't, because Lotor might still be in there somewhere.. waiting for someone to save him." Said Allura, hands curling over her lap. "At least, I hope so."

"And," added Acxa, "he feels nothing but sheer hatred towards Honerva. If we manage to rescue him, he may help us in the battle against her. He's a formidable ally."

"So, do we all agree on this next course of action?" Asked Shiro, raising an eyebrow at the MFE team.

"I'm down for it" said James

"Count me in!" Added Veronica

"Works for me" Rizavi shrugged.

Kinkade nodded along, and so did Ina.

"It is decided then, Paladins and members of the coalition. We will face off Honerva, and rescue Lotor and Sincline from her clutches... it's what must be done to save all realities."

Shiro adjourned the meeting and quickly the crew stood from their seats.

Keith waited for the room to clear, and approached Lance, placing a hand on his shoulder. Lance turned in surprise but immediately softened as he saw the look on Keith's face.

"Is something wrong?" Lance asked, shoulders relaxing.

"I don't know, you tell me." Keith's grip tightened a bit. "Are you holding up alright? I saw you sat far away from Allura today."

 

"Lance…"

“Well, yesterday, we broke up. I'm not too sure how to feel about it, though. I'm sad? But I know that it's the right thing to do, that it will make her happy in the long run. So.. I guess I'm kinda happy, too? Does that make sense? I really wish it didn't come to this, y'know? But you guys made me see where I was wrong and when, and that helped me a lot, I'm thankful."

"Okay, calm down.Take a breath Lance..You don't need to let it out all at once". Keith smiled softly, his hand still not leaving his shoulder.

Keith's smile, there was always something about Keith's smile. It made him feel warm inside, in a way, it made Lance feel safe. It made him feel at home, even in the vastness of space. That slow curl of his lips was so comforting that he found himself imitating it.

"No Lance, we're thankful to have you. Sure, you got some faults here and there, but without you, I- the team wouldn't be the same, you know? Hell, hadn't you been at the right place, at the right time, perhaps we wouldn't even have been paladins."

"Keith, what are you trying to imply?"

"I just wanted to say that I'm proud of you, Lance. You're a vital member of this team, you don't need to be anything special, or with anyone special. You, as you are, is good enough."

Lance shuddered, fighting back a sudden wave of emotions that flooded him, and smirked at Keith. "Of course I am! I'm the cool, ninja Sharpshooter, remember? Leave it all to me."

Keith gave Lance's shoulder a friendly punch, before going on his way. "More like the Goofball, you mean."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean!?" Lance yelled as he chased after Keith, who acted as if nothing had happened.

Meanwhile, down the corridor, one blue-skinned beauty was walking back to her chambers. She ran a hand through her hair, catching her horns along the way. Her path was halted though, when a friendly hand grabbed her elbow. Turning around, she was surprised, but not at all displeased to see Veronica. A soft, embarrassed smile stretched across her cheeks as she greeted her friend.

"Hi Veronica."

The McClain put her best 'femme fatale' look on, and swung an arm around Acxa, not tearing her gaze away from the half Galra. 

"You know, I really liked your intervention today at the meeting" she mused, flirtatious. "You looked so stern, so confident.. so passionate. It made my heart jump in my chest."

"I-I'm glad, Veronica, that's great- I-I guess." Acxa was now desperately trying to get rid of the bright blush that painted her cheeks a darker colour. She hated this. She didn't really hate this, but she felt like she did. Acxa, Lotor's right hand woman, leader of the Generals. The woman whom he trusted to be his eyes and ears inside the Empire, the woman ready to lie to Zarkon's face.. was now a blushing, flustered mess because of a human woman. Sure it was the most beautiful human woman she had ever seen, but still..

"Aww, what's the matter? The cat's got your tongue?" 

Veronica's voice snapped her back from her train of thought. 

"What? No, not at all. I was just thoughtful, that's all."

"Mmhm, tell me about it."

"I.. this place is a bit too crowded. Can we sit down somewhere?"

"Sure thing! How about we have a drink over this? The cafeteria should be pretty much empty now."

"That'd be lovely, actually."

"Let's go, then. I want you to taste coffee. I don't know why, but I'm sure you'll love it."

And so they went, disappearing into the crowd.

\------------------------------------------------

In preparation for the upcoming day, Allura had chosen to rest and meditate. With a clear mind and renewed willpower, she was sure this operation would've been a success. She had her new family at her side, now. There was no way this would've been a failure.

'Like last time.' Hissed a voice in the back of her head.

The entity within her, unfortunately, had other plans.

'You know well, Princess, that this is your fault. You brought this, the collapse of the Galra Empire, the exploitation of your people by a mad Witch, upon the Universe. It is you, whose hands are stained by the blood of your kin. How can you be fit to rule?'

Allura sunk her face into the pillow, screaming into it."Shut up! Leave me be! Leave me alone!!"

'How can we be sure that what you did to him won't happen again? How can we know that you won't turn on your allies anymore?'

Allura had given up on the pillow and was now desperately clutching her temples, breaking into cold sweats and crying into the spartan sheets below her, as the entity churned and twisted uncomfortably inside her. She curled her legs up against her stomach in discomfort.

'You're a monster, not unlike the ones you claim to fight, a vicious creature that mocks its victims with a superiority that's only apparent, a-'

"Allura!" came Hunk’s voice as he ran to her side, placing a hand over her shoulder. That was enough to dissipate the Entity's voice. She immediately turned to the yellow paladin, hugging him tightly.

"Are you okay?"

Allura was out of breath, grasping at the fabric of his clothes as she gasped for air. Hunk wrapped his arms around her, rocking softly. He rubbed her back in slow circular motions, humming gently. He knew it was the best thing to do.

"Hey, hey Allura it's gonna be okay. We're all here for you. We're not abandoning you, you're not alone."

Allura reluctantly pulled away a little bit, rubbing her puffy eyes with her hands.

"I feel awful, Hunk. Lately these days I feel like everything I do is a mistake, that my actions hold no worth. Had I been more reasonable, none of this would have ever happened!"

Hunk put both of his hands on Allura's shoulders, a kind smile on his friendly face. 

"I don't care how many times we have to say this, Allura, but you're great. We're as guilty as you are, alright? But you more than everyone else is trying to fix this mess, and I commend that. I'm proud of you. We all are." 

Hunk stood up and tightened the bandana around his head.

"You're our Princess, we are your Paladins. Without one, the other would be lost. Now, how about I treat you to some snacks? A full stomach goes a long way to mend a broken heart."

Allura's eyes lit up with a spark of joy, sitting up from her bed. 

"I would very much enjoy that, Hunk."

Sadly, the afternoon snack was over before it started, the blaring of alarms startling the two. A rather dishevelled Pidge busted into the room, shouting.

"THERE'S NO TIME TO EXPLAIN, HONERVA HAS BEEN SIGHTED NEAR THE QUANTUM ABYSS! IF THERE'S A TIME TO ENACT THE PLAN, NOW'S THE MOMENT!"

The two looked each other in the eyes and, after an affirmative nod, ran along with Pidge towards the Hangar.

One Takashi Shirogane was already giving orders to the cadets as the group of paladins reached him.

"We have already opened a wormhole to the location, the MFE pilots are primed and waiting for orders, what's left is you guys."

Asserted Shiro, eyes narrowing on his teammates. His sharp eyesight rapidly caught Allura's weary eyes, as well as a rather awkward expression on Lance's face. Questions would have to wait, this was their one chance at retrieving Lotor, and they had no room for mistakes.

"I want to specify that this is our only chance to cripple Honerva's mobility. If we flunk this, we won't get another shot. I want you all to give 200% of everything you've got, understood? Now go, and show the Universe what we're made of."

With trepidation, with anxiety, but also with the unrelenting resolve to save the Universe, the paladins boarded their lions. Once the orders were given, MFEs and Paladins alike all went through the wormhole, finding themselves face to face with Honerva and her Alteans.

Yet, there was no Sincline in sight.

Lance looked around in Red's cockpit, a weird sense of apprehension gripping his chest.

"Shiro, we've got the Big Bad in our sights But no signs of Lotor or Sincline., Just a lot of Alteans."

"Same here," replied Pidge, the concern straining her voice with tension.

"This is bad, this is really bad" whined Hunk.

"I have the hunch that this might have been a trap." Said Pidge.

"What makes you think that?" Asked Lance, corking an eyebrow.

"The enemy is completely stationary. They're not moving, not attacking, nor trying to communicate. They're waiting for something to happen."

"Behind you." whispered the voice in the back of Allura's mind. 

She ducked to the side just in time, narrowly avoiding the blast from Sincline's chest cannon. All hell broke loose as the Rift-torn mecha stormed into the battlefield into a blind rage, the Alteans joining in. It was immediately clear to Keith that their intention was to keep them separated so that they could not form Voltron.

"Shiro! We're under heavy fire and unable to form Voltron! Get the Atlas here in offensive formation!"

He masterfully dodgedi the blows from the Alteans. What he couldn't avoid was, unfortunately, Sincline charging at him at ramming speed. That is if Lance hadn't flown in with Red and quite literally headbutted Black away, utilizing her superior speed to then get the two of them out of trouble.

"Hey! Keep your guard up, Keith, we're here to rescue someone, not to lose a team member!"

Keith felt a dip in Lance's voice, something he was quite sure only he heard. However, he thanked him and quickly regained composure, switching to Pidge and Hunk's communicators.

"Pidge,run diagnostics on Sincline. Hunk, keep the Alteans off her back.”   
He then switched to the other two paladins

"Lance, Allura! You two have the fastest Lions, keep our target busy as we wait for backup!"

A collective "Roger that!" came over the communicators, as they carried out their orders.

Lance began running circles around Lotor's mecha, taunting him all the way.

"Hey, you big dumb dragon robot-thingy! I'm right here! Catch me if you can!!" 

That sorted the desired effect, as Sincline, focused its ravenous attacks on the Red Lion that avoided them to the best of her abilities.

Allura instead was paralyzed, staring wide-eyed at Sincline. The memories of the past battle torturing her mind. Pidge's voice snapped her out of it, trying to focus on what she was saying.

"The time in the rift damaged its shields and over-shields! Allura, if you use Blue's freezing ray on the joints it will prevent it from moving!"

"What if we hurt him, Pidge? What if he doesn't survive the blow? I can't live knowing I was the one to deal the killing blow on him! Not when we're trying to rescue him!"

"Allura, this is our only chance. Either we run the risk of hurting him, or we go away, and be certain of his death."

"I hope you can forgive me, Lotor. " whispered Allura as she charged up the freezing ray. Aiming for the robot's junctures, she fired with pinpoint accuracy. As expected, Sincline's joints froze solid in a matter of seconds, preventing it from moving.

"That seems to have worked,” Keith exhaled. “Lance, Hunk, latch onto Sincline and proceed with the retrieval. I'll signal retreat and forward it to the MFE team."   
Pidge leaned back in her lion, a flicker catching her attention as several blaring red lights on her screen, signaling several alerts on Sincline.

"Several pressurized vaults are failing inside Sincline! The robot's temperature is rising significantly!"

"What?!" Keith shouted. "How can that happen with a freezing ray?"

"It's not the freezing ray," she replied. "All these are internal malfunctions...the ray doesn't pierce outer plating."

"Is Lotor causing these, then?"

"No." Interrupted Allura. "I've built that ship with him, I know it inside and out. He cannot cause malfunctions voluntarily, the only way to destroy the pressurized coolant chambers is to physically tear the cables apart, he's alone in there, all these malfunctions can't happen at the same time."

"Then what do you suggest is happening?" Hunk asked, cold sweats running down his forehead.

"I don't know, this makes no sense. Unless...Oh no." Allura caught herself, a hand over her chest. "It's like the Lions. Lotor isn't causing this, Lotor may not even be piloting. It's Sincline. It's alive, and it's destroying itself to keep fighting!"

"Lance, Hunk, Keith! Get away from there! A heat surge is incoming! Get within a safe distance ASAP!"

Keith turned to follow Hunk before looking back.

"Lance, move!”

"I can't! I'm stuck!"

"What do you mean you're stuck?"

"The moment Red bit into Sincline, all these wires burst out of the arm. When I tried backing away, they latched onto her! I can't move!"

"Can't we do anything to free her?" Keith demanded, a knot in his throat distorting his voice.

"Not now. If anyone else gets near, they'll be caught in the wave of immense heat before they can escape." Asserted Pidge. 

"I can activate Red's cannon."

"No, Lance, the Impact zone is too close! You risk suffering the blast as well!" Shouted Keith.

"Do you have any other options?"   
"No, but-" 

"Then trust me." Lance gave his signature smirk. "I'm the cool, ninja sharpshooter, am I not? I won't miss the shot."

"Good luck, Lance.You better get out of there alive, I won't put up with your stupid ass ghost haunting me."

"Sorry to interrupt the heartfelt moment,” Pidge shouted. “But if you want to break free and not cause an explosion the size of a planet, you have to aim for Sincline's shoulder juncture. It'll most likely sever the entire arm off of the mecha, but the heat will disperse and you won't hit the core, nor the cockpit, understood?" 

"Got that! How much time until the surge?"

"Thirty seconds."

Lance took a deep breath and closed his eyes. In his mind, laden with apprehension and nervousness, he prayed for Red to aid him in his shot. The cannon emerged from the lion's back, and after a few moments of calibration, charged up and fired the beam of pure energy at the juncture, subsequently flying away as far as time would allow him. The flares emerging from the robot's now open shoulder were spectacular, but something else made the paladin's blood chill in their veins.

A scream.

Sincline was shrieking in pain, its limbs twisting at odd angles, shattering the ice that covered its junctures. The noise it made was inhuman, a metallic screech of pure anguish, from who had no means to speak, yet the need to scream.

Wires and cables flailed aimlessly out of the now open wound, twisting around like a whip. At the same time, the IGF Atlas appeared from the wormhole already in battle asset and began pushing back the Altean forces in coordination with the MFE team.

\------------------------------------------------------------

A distraught Merla burst into Honerva's room, clutching a datapad. "Your Majesty! Humans are pushing back our forces! We can't hold the front!"

Honerva's brows knit together as she intertwined her fingers, gazing at the battlefield in front of her.

"Is Sincline in travel condition? Can we lure them into another reality?" 

"No. If Lotor were to jump between realities in such conditions, he couldn't handle the shift, and would be scattered throughout space and time."

"But the paladins do not know that, do they?"

"I don't think they do,."

"Set the coordinates for Sacramanda."

"Sacramanda? But its satellite is in collision route with the planet as we speak!"

"Precisely. It's a planet the paladins still haven't been to. We're gonna wormhole there, pretending to flee to another reality, and in their desperate chase, they'll follow us right into the trap. All we have to do after that is hold them off on the planet until it's too late for them to escape the impact, then wormhole away again. They will be caught within the blast and pulverized along with Voltron and the Atlas. We'll get rid of all of our opponents without having to fire a single shot."

"I'll execute the orders immediately,."

During the fight, Keith's eyes honed in on the main robot, seeing as it was beginning to gather energy.

"Team! Honerva's robot is charging up! They're gonna jump to another reality!"

Sincline's eyes turned red, and, with the remaining arm, opened the wormhole and dove into it, followed by the Alteans and Honerva.

A groan came from the Black Paladin as he switched between comms. 

"Paladins! Atlas Crew! MFE Team! This is our only chance to retrieve the Sincline! We have to give chase now!"

That being said, he was the first to dive into the still open wormhole, quickly followed by the rest of the Lions and the MFEs, and lastly, the Atlas.

\----------------------------------------------------------

A tiny grin curled Honerva's lips upwards. "Merla. Tell the Alteans to swarm the Paladins, we won't give them the time to breathe."

Merla brought a hand to her chest, bowing. "It will be done, your Majesty! They will pay for what they did to Lotor!"

Honerva let her back fall against the seat, hands clasped before her. Her calculating gaze scanned the panels and holograms before her, golden eyes honing on the Blue Lion.

"Indeed they will, Merla. Indeed they will."

\------------------------------------------------------------

"Wait.. something's wrong!" Exclaimed Slav from the Atlas' cockpit. "This isn't a reality shift, it's a regular wormhole!"

"Do you think they have baited us?"

"I am 97.7% certain of that, Coran." Replied Slav, fixing his jacket.

"But where is the question- oh you daughter of a Quiznacking Yelmor…"

The first sight the Defenders of the Universe were faced with, upon exiting the wormhole, was that of a massive meteorite, almost half the size of the moon, barrelling towards them.

"HOLY CROW! WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?" Shouted Lance, eyes wide.

"That's a satellite! Estimated time of Impact: two hours!" Shouted Pidge, trickles of sweat running down her forehead.

"Will we be able to survive the impact?" 

"Not this close. The sheer force of it would vaporize anything in its blast."

"Will we be able to escape then?"

"Only via wormhole, and not with the Alteans and Sincline constantly attacking us."

"What do you suggest we do then, Pidge?" Asked Keith, brows furrowing.

"I would fuse Voltron and the Atlas, and fight back with all of our power. We have to create a window of time wide enough so that we could activate the teludav before the Alteans and Honerva can damage it."

"Is it our only chance?"

"Yes."

"Then let's do that."

The Lions positioned themselves next to the respective limbs and, in a flash of light and a burst of alchemical power, they fused to the massive robot.

After summoning its massive greatsword, the Mecha lunged at the Alteans, sending enemies flying. Thanks to its superior power, the Altean forces were quickly overwhelmed and began falling back.

"We're doing it!" Cheered on Lance, his grin wide on his cheeks.

"But it's still not enough!" Commented Pidge, disheartened. "We'll never get a big enough window of time this way, we need more power!"

"But we don't have more power!" Shouted Keith "This is literally the strongest we can get!"

"Then what do we do?" Cried out Hunk in distress. 

"I don't know, Hunk. I don't know, this was all my fault. I'm supposed to be your leader, but I've only put your lives in jeopardy." Keith's voice was heavy with grief, laden with defeat. Hearing Keith speak that way tugged at Lance's heartstrings in a weird way. Suddenly, he had the feeling of a lightbulb turning on over his head. 

"I do." Said Lance.

"What?"

"I do know what to do. Pidge, what's the estimated time of impact?"

"An hour and a half, why?"

"Is the satellite close enough to draw in smaller objects?"

"It should, if they were high enough- Lance, you're not thinking what I think you're thinking, right?"

A sly chuckle escaped from Lance's lips. "We're considerably heavier than the Altean mechas. If we were to fly up high enough, the Alteans would be caught between the two gravity fields, but our greater weight would be drawn back to the bigger mass, which is the planet. We can't defeat them all, but we can stun them enough to give us an opening and wormhole away."

"Lance, the difference isn't that much, we risk getting stuck as well!"

"Do you have any better idea, Pidge?"

"No, but-"

"We don't have enough time for buts, Pidge. This is our last chance. It's either this or certain death."

Pidge sighed and switched comms. 

"Here goes nothing." She opened Shiro's channel. "Shiro, we need to take the Atlas Voltron high enough so that the Alteans get caught between the two gravitational pulls. We need you to start the procedures to generate a wormhole as we do that. How fast can you do that?"

"With most of our systems focused on propelling and defending us from attacks, I'm afraid it'll take a lot more than usual. Taking into account the time taken to even get to said altitude, we're going to have a window of just a few minutes to create the wormhole and escape through it."

Keith reeled the control levers back. With a collective push from the Paladins, the fused mecha took to the skies, flying through the clouds and aiming straight for the massive planetoid headed its way. As expected, the Alteans followed with the mutilated Sincline in tow.

"A few minutes is all we need."

Their ascension wasn't an easy task, as the debris being lifted from the planet hit Atlas' outer shields along with the continuous attacks from the altean force.

"Come on" grunted Keith through gritted teeth. "Just a few more miles, just a little more time."

Before his eyes, the robots of their opponents began floating, being drawn towards the immense satellite. A wide grin plastered on his face, Keith switched the comms to Shiro.

"Shiro! Begin the wormhole procedure! We're getting out of here!"

"Roger that, Keith. Opening wormhole."

Clunk.

Alarms blared red as the Atlas' hull was pierced through by one of the Alteans' spear, and another one. And one more after that. Like leeches, like ticks the smaller robots latched onto the Atlas, draining it of his energy.

Pidge suddenly appeared on the communicators, an expression of sheer terror in her eyes.

"The Alteans are syphoning our Quintessence! At this rate, we risk a complete shutdown!"

"Guys, we can't shake them off!" Shouted Hunk, his voice whiny under the strain of the situation.

"Keith! What do we do?" Asked Lance, the slightest hint of tears in his eyes. 

"I-I don't know!" Blurted out Keith, sweat trickling down his temples and causing his hair to stick to the sides of his head. "I don't know what to do!" 

For the first time in a while, Keith was hit with the weight of his actions. He could accept sacrificing his life to save the others, but this, this wasn't just about him. Everyone he knew was on that ship, everyone he cared about. He had the lives of his personal world in his own hands, and the weight was crushing him. His mind was invaded by panic, his blood froze in his veins. He couldn't think, he couldn't move, he couldn't breathe. There he was, staring wide eyed at a slowly deteriorating wormhole like a deer in the headlights of a truck. Until a voice shook him from his daze.

Allura's voice resonated with a strength never heard before, vibrating with determination and resolve.

"EVACUATE THE SHIP!" She shouted. "GET THE CREW TO THE ESCAPE PODS!"

After a few moments of stupor, Shiro turned to the Atlas squad. "You heard the Princess! All to the escape pods, now!"

The wormhole was already to the point of collapsing onto itself, the Atlas' energies waning. Shiro was alone in the now empty cockpit, rerouting all secondary systems to the built-in Teleduv in a desperate attempt to keep the wormhole up. Switching on the comms, he turned to the Paladins.

"Keith, Allura, and the rest of you. Eject the Lions. I'll keep the wormhole steady." His voice was strained, struck with grief. "It's been an honour flying with you all."

Hunk’s eyes were blown wide. "Shiro, you don't mean.." 

"All escape pods have been fired, Hunk. There's no way for me to flee this ship even we had time. This captain will go down with his vessel."

"Shiro! No!" Roared Keith. "I'm not leaving without you!"

"Me neither!" Yelled Lance

"Ditto!" Screamed Pidge.

"We're not leaving you alone, man." Added Hunk. "If we go, we go together. As a family."

"But if I flee, nothing keeps the teleduv running. The wormhole would collapse almost immediately!"

"There is… one thing that you could do." Suddenly said Allura. "Your arm is powered by my crown crystal, an alchemically charged gem passed down from mother to daughter for generations. You can supercharge your arm and insert it into the control panel. You wouldn't be able to retrieve it, but it would produce enough energy to keep the wormhole up."

Shiro looked at his robotic arm, the limb he had lost twice in his journey and only recently gained back. All prior losses were caused by the witch he now knew was named Honerva. But now? Now he had a choice. Blue energy flared up along the prosthetic, from the forearm to the fingertips. Clenching it into a fist, he shoved it into the control panel and darted off, making his way to the black Lion.

A warm hand was placed on Keith's back, which caused him to turn and look up, a smile splitting his face as he saw Shiro.

"Let's go, Keith."

Keith nodded, before opening the communicators to the Paladins.

"Ok! The plan is this! We're gonna eject from the Atlas, and then collectively tackle Sincline into the wormhole, bringing him down into Earth orbit. We'll improvise from there!"

After a collective nod, the Lions separated from the Atlas and made a beeline for Sincline. Red was the first to slam into the robot, latching onto one of its legs. Immediately after Blue hit its arm, Green grabbed the flailing wires, Yellow got a hold of the other leg, and lastly, Black spearheaded straight into its chest. Yet, even with their thrusters at full capacity, the Robot's engines were still too powerful, causing them to still their advance at just a few metres from the portal.

"We don't have enough power!" Lamented Hunk. 

"We're at a standstill!" Groaned Lance, his eyebrow twitching in distress.

Allura was oddly quiet, instead.

"Lance." She finally spoke, standing up from her seat and grabbing her bayard. "Bring Blue home for me. I know she trusts you enough to do so."

"Allura, you're not doing what I think you're doing, are you?"

The energy Allura's voice radiated, the sheer coldness, paired with unwavering resolve sent a shiver down the Paladin's spines. 

"I'm gonna bring him back. And if some shoddy engine thinks he's capable of stopping me, well I'm about to hit it with a reality check."

Leaping out of Blue, Allura propelled herself outwards, finding herself suspended miles away from the harsh ground below them. After a few moments spent scanning out the swarming robots around them. Once she found her target, she activated her bayard, swinging it around. The whip-like beam of light protruded from the weapon, forming a halo around her which she promptly shot towards the Altean that flew closer than the others. The whip latched around the robot's neck, and with a mighty pull, sent the latter flying towards her. She leapt forward with her back jets and reeled an arm back, feeling the adrenaline and the alchemy burn through her veins. 

Something else, out of its own will, flowed too. 

Her hand, now clenched into a punch engulfed by crackling sparks and purple flames broke through the glass of the cockpit with overwhelming ease, sending her inside and straddling a still shell-shocked Merla, which was sent to sleep with another punch. Tossing her out of her seat, she took her place, imposing her hands on the panels and causing a surge of Quintessence that rewired the robot's systems. Now answering only to her, the Altean machine shot towards Sincline, piercing its stomach with its spear and sending the two and the Paladins hurling through the wormhole and into the Earth's atmosphere, screaming through the sky like a roaring fireball and slamming into the ground in front of the Garrison in a sea of searing hot sparks.

Jumping out through the shattered visor, the Princess cracked her knuckles, rolling her neck.

"We've got you now.." she exhaled, looking at the inactive Sincline below her. "And there's not a chance in the Void that I'm losing you again."


End file.
